Madalsa
@madalsa.org
Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology. I study and teach carbon-constrained energy systems. via Stanford, IIT Bombay. Views mine, many interests.
https://madalsa.org/
https://madalsa.org/
Pinned
Madalsa
@madalsa.org
· Nov 7
I'm hiring PhD students to start in Fall 2026!
Current research interests include energy affordability, integrating hyperscale demand in our electricity grids, and advancing sustainable mobility
Apply by Jan 15, 2026: www.rit.edu/study/sustai...
More info at madalsa.org
Current research interests include energy affordability, integrating hyperscale demand in our electricity grids, and advancing sustainable mobility
Apply by Jan 15, 2026: www.rit.edu/study/sustai...
More info at madalsa.org
Reposted by Madalsa
Mini nuclear reactors are already losing their glow ft.trib.al/V1KUH2e | opinion
Mini nuclear reactors are already losing their glow
Several studies suggest SMRs will produce higher levels of nuclear waste than traditional plants
ft.trib.al
December 29, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Mini nuclear reactors are already losing their glow ft.trib.al/V1KUH2e | opinion
Reposted by Madalsa
For a sense of just how massive the legacy problems left by retreating fossil extraction are, check out the struggle to plug just one orphan oil well in a residential neighborhood. CA currently has more than 40,000 orphaned wells, w potential for many 1000s more.
www.latimes.com/socal/daily-...
www.latimes.com/socal/daily-...
Emergency effort to seal off leaks from abandoned oil well in Newport Beach faces delay
Construction to cap a methane-emitting oil well underneath a Balboa Peninsula neighborhood missed its Christmas Day deadline due to unexpected delays.
www.latimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:34 AM
For a sense of just how massive the legacy problems left by retreating fossil extraction are, check out the struggle to plug just one orphan oil well in a residential neighborhood. CA currently has more than 40,000 orphaned wells, w potential for many 1000s more.
www.latimes.com/socal/daily-...
www.latimes.com/socal/daily-...
Reposted by Madalsa
I've enjoyed reading various definitions of slop, the word of the year according to Merriam-Webster. But they all focus on its attributes, which misses the resignation to a cynical instrumentality that I think explains why many people find slop repulsive
Slop is not distinguishable by its attributes. It is an attitude of production | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
December 24, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I've enjoyed reading various definitions of slop, the word of the year according to Merriam-Webster. But they all focus on its attributes, which misses the resignation to a cynical instrumentality that I think explains why many people find slop repulsive
Love this piece from @dancohen.org on how Northwestern libraries are integrating library resources into LLM chatbots, encouraging 'the student.. to consult the texts themselves, which popular chatbots eschew during spasms of summarization."
All hail the index!
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
All hail the index!
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Library’s New Entryway
An interface that combines the advantages of the traditional index with the power of LLMs is the path forward
newsletter.dancohen.org
December 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Love this piece from @dancohen.org on how Northwestern libraries are integrating library resources into LLM chatbots, encouraging 'the student.. to consult the texts themselves, which popular chatbots eschew during spasms of summarization."
All hail the index!
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
All hail the index!
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
Reposted by Madalsa
Things I remain shocked by:
-People in industries like journalism and education that are going to be turned upside down by AI who barely use or understand it
-People in those industries (often the same ones) who still feel comfortable making sweeping claims about AI's capabilities and limitations
-People in industries like journalism and education that are going to be turned upside down by AI who barely use or understand it
-People in those industries (often the same ones) who still feel comfortable making sweeping claims about AI's capabilities and limitations
December 28, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Things I remain shocked by:
-People in industries like journalism and education that are going to be turned upside down by AI who barely use or understand it
-People in those industries (often the same ones) who still feel comfortable making sweeping claims about AI's capabilities and limitations
-People in industries like journalism and education that are going to be turned upside down by AI who barely use or understand it
-People in those industries (often the same ones) who still feel comfortable making sweeping claims about AI's capabilities and limitations
I have an active research agenda exploring electricity affordability that I want to fast-track given its enormous potential public good. Funding and hiring may be slow to materialize in these times but putting this in ether if anyone wants to collaborate/join forces
www.eenews.net/articles/ele...
www.eenews.net/articles/ele...
Electricity rates a potent political issue ahead of 2026 midterms
Utility rate cases in battleground states will shine a spotlight on utility regulators as cost-of-living issues grab headlines in a big election year.
www.eenews.net
December 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I have an active research agenda exploring electricity affordability that I want to fast-track given its enormous potential public good. Funding and hiring may be slow to materialize in these times but putting this in ether if anyone wants to collaborate/join forces
www.eenews.net/articles/ele...
www.eenews.net/articles/ele...
This was a phenomenal conversation. Particularly shocked at a) what ex Cruise CEO said to Tumlin — emblematic of what the capitalist class thinks of basic regulations — and b) how little data SF city has about robotaxi operations. CPUC is understandably overworked but this is pretty bad.
December 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
This was a phenomenal conversation. Particularly shocked at a) what ex Cruise CEO said to Tumlin — emblematic of what the capitalist class thinks of basic regulations — and b) how little data SF city has about robotaxi operations. CPUC is understandably overworked but this is pretty bad.
“The value of the world’s top ten companies is $25.6 trillion. Of that, $15.1 trillion has accumulated since 30 November 2022 and is directly linked to the AI boom.”
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester · King of Cannibal Island: Will the AI bubble burst?
Nvidia shares are the purest bet you can make on the impact of AI. The leading firms are lending money to one another in...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 27, 2025 at 3:46 PM
“The value of the world’s top ten companies is $25.6 trillion. Of that, $15.1 trillion has accumulated since 30 November 2022 and is directly linked to the AI boom.”
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Madalsa
One thing 2025 made clear: Durable progress on climate in the US will require structural reform to our corrupted political systems. Otherwise, steps forward will always be vulnerable to the bloody clawbacks we saw this year. A political strategy that doesn't center system reform is not "pragmatic."
December 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
One thing 2025 made clear: Durable progress on climate in the US will require structural reform to our corrupted political systems. Otherwise, steps forward will always be vulnerable to the bloody clawbacks we saw this year. A political strategy that doesn't center system reform is not "pragmatic."
Reposted by Madalsa
December 27, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted by Madalsa
Having a Scleroderma flare because I had to stop taking my immune suppressant temporarily. I have a cracked molar and a dental abscess. This is not my idea of an ideal Christmas. Here’s my link you like my content and feel like contributing to my dental repair bill:
coff.ee/sandrallester
coff.ee/sandrallester
Sandra L Lester is Building awareness of social justice and environmental issues.
Building scientist 👩🔬 Ecowarrior Badass™️ 🍃 Social Justice 🕊️Questioning broken systems, creating frameworks of integrity and elevating sustainability, responsibility, and human dignity.🇨🇦
coff.ee
December 27, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Having a Scleroderma flare because I had to stop taking my immune suppressant temporarily. I have a cracked molar and a dental abscess. This is not my idea of an ideal Christmas. Here’s my link you like my content and feel like contributing to my dental repair bill:
coff.ee/sandrallester
coff.ee/sandrallester
Reposted by Madalsa
"Many of the most significant discoveries of the 21st century have first appeared on the platform. [...] The biggest mystery is not why arXiv succeeded. Rather, it’s how it wasn’t killed by vested interests intent on protecting traditional academic publishing."
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science
Modern science wouldn’t exist without the online research repository known as arXiv. Three decades in, its creator still can’t let it go.
www.wired.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
"Many of the most significant discoveries of the 21st century have first appeared on the platform. [...] The biggest mystery is not why arXiv succeeded. Rather, it’s how it wasn’t killed by vested interests intent on protecting traditional academic publishing."
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Reposted by Madalsa
We're seeing this across the country, from Michigan to Louisiana: monopoly utilities and big tech companies pressuring regulators to rush approval of massive bilateral deals, without regard for uncertainty about impacts on ordinary ratepayers:
www.eenews.net/articles/mic...
www.eenews.net/articles/mic...
Michigan regulators sign off on power contracts for $7B Stargate data center
The state attorney general has said the decision was rushed through the Public Service Commission with too little public oversight.
www.eenews.net
December 25, 2025 at 4:12 PM
We're seeing this across the country, from Michigan to Louisiana: monopoly utilities and big tech companies pressuring regulators to rush approval of massive bilateral deals, without regard for uncertainty about impacts on ordinary ratepayers:
www.eenews.net/articles/mic...
www.eenews.net/articles/mic...
Thinking about this year, and everything it has brought me, and us, at the Electrify America charging station in rural NY.
December 25, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Thinking about this year, and everything it has brought me, and us, at the Electrify America charging station in rural NY.
Reposted by Madalsa
For this piece, I compiled a systematic dataset of California environmental litigation going back to 1973. Wealthy homeowners and businesses account for the vast majority of lawsuits restricting growth.
How Regulation by Litigation Strangled American Abundance
Environmentalists aren't blocking housing. Wealthy homeowners are.
open.substack.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
For this piece, I compiled a systematic dataset of California environmental litigation going back to 1973. Wealthy homeowners and businesses account for the vast majority of lawsuits restricting growth.
Reposted by Madalsa
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
December 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
Reposted by Madalsa
LA wildfires public health impacts:
What is the main finding?
Local residents experienced a 24% excess in pulmonary illness, a 46% excess in myocardial infarction, and a 118% excess in systemic illness requiring emergency medical attention.
What is the main finding?
Local residents experienced a 24% excess in pulmonary illness, a 46% excess in myocardial infarction, and a 118% excess in systemic illness requiring emergency medical attention.
December 18, 2025 at 11:20 PM
LA wildfires public health impacts:
What is the main finding?
Local residents experienced a 24% excess in pulmonary illness, a 46% excess in myocardial infarction, and a 118% excess in systemic illness requiring emergency medical attention.
What is the main finding?
Local residents experienced a 24% excess in pulmonary illness, a 46% excess in myocardial infarction, and a 118% excess in systemic illness requiring emergency medical attention.
Reposted by Madalsa
L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center saw 46% more visits for heart attacks than usual during the 90 days after the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited. Also unusual blood test results increased 118%. Chilling stuff from @corinnepurtill.bsky.social: www.latimes.com/environment/...
After the L.A. fires, heart attacks and strange blood test results spiked
A new study is the latest of several recent research papers documenting the physical toll of January's fires.
www.latimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center saw 46% more visits for heart attacks than usual during the 90 days after the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited. Also unusual blood test results increased 118%. Chilling stuff from @corinnepurtill.bsky.social: www.latimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by Madalsa
‘There is a distinction between AI safety, which is hypothetical, and AI harm, which is happening now. For one thing, much of the data on which AI models have been trained is stolen – including, as it happens, from me.’
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester · King of Cannibal Island: Will the AI bubble burst?
Nvidia shares are the purest bet you can make on the impact of AI. The leading firms are lending money to one another in...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 16, 2025 at 12:10 PM
‘There is a distinction between AI safety, which is hypothetical, and AI harm, which is happening now. For one thing, much of the data on which AI models have been trained is stolen – including, as it happens, from me.’
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Madalsa
@marcusolang.substack.com, brilliantly, on the coloniality of ling. education and AI:
"The irony is maddening: You spend a lifetime mastering a language, adhering to its formal rules with greater diligence than most native speakers, and for this, a machine built an ocean away calls you a fake."
"The irony is maddening: You spend a lifetime mastering a language, adhering to its formal rules with greater diligence than most native speakers, and for this, a machine built an ocean away calls you a fake."
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:23 AM
@marcusolang.substack.com, brilliantly, on the coloniality of ling. education and AI:
"The irony is maddening: You spend a lifetime mastering a language, adhering to its formal rules with greater diligence than most native speakers, and for this, a machine built an ocean away calls you a fake."
"The irony is maddening: You spend a lifetime mastering a language, adhering to its formal rules with greater diligence than most native speakers, and for this, a machine built an ocean away calls you a fake."
quarter of vermont housing is pre 1939
December 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
quarter of vermont housing is pre 1939
Reposted by Madalsa
And they want to take TikTok away from kids.
December 14, 2025 at 2:25 AM
And they want to take TikTok away from kids.
Reposted by Madalsa
All eyes (should be) on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Voters there recently elected two Dems to the this powerful body, but the decision on Georgia Power's $15B proposal likely won't wait until they are sworn in:
apnews.com/article/geor...
apnews.com/article/geor...
Georgia Power says it needs a huge increase in power capacity to meet data center demand
Georgia's largest utility wants to spend more than $15 billion to increase its electricity capacity by 50% over the next six years to serve data centers.
apnews.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:20 PM
All eyes (should be) on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Voters there recently elected two Dems to the this powerful body, but the decision on Georgia Power's $15B proposal likely won't wait until they are sworn in:
apnews.com/article/geor...
apnews.com/article/geor...
me this winter
December 13, 2025 at 11:00 PM
me this winter
Reposted by Madalsa
"Every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them."
Best English piece on South Korea's birth rate I've read. It avoids the common sensational dreck and rightly points to the anti-natalist govt campaigns as public policy origin worksinprogress.co/issue/two-is...
Best English piece on South Korea's birth rate I've read. It avoids the common sensational dreck and rightly points to the anti-natalist govt campaigns as public policy origin worksinprogress.co/issue/two-is...
Two is already too many - Works in Progress Magazine
Every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them. The rest of the world can learn from Korea’s catastrophe to avoid the same fate.
worksinprogress.co
December 11, 2025 at 4:44 AM
"Every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them."
Best English piece on South Korea's birth rate I've read. It avoids the common sensational dreck and rightly points to the anti-natalist govt campaigns as public policy origin worksinprogress.co/issue/two-is...
Best English piece on South Korea's birth rate I've read. It avoids the common sensational dreck and rightly points to the anti-natalist govt campaigns as public policy origin worksinprogress.co/issue/two-is...